Welp I will definately be turning wood tomorrow, I am unsure how I would rate the HF lathe until I get further use out of it.  Although I'm not thrilled with the alignment issues of it so far I'm going to have to make a wedge or a sliver wedge of some sort to get the head stock to line up with the tail stock properly other than that its bolted down ready to go working order nothing broke in set up.  Well except for the flimsy legs it came with those will be dismantled and set aside.  But so far it seems quite solid.  I would say that the way the speeds are lined up with the speed setting handle are all jacked up so it will take some tinkering to figure it out but other than that Id have to say its quite solid.

3 hours ago, AndrewB said:

Although I'm not thrilled with the alignment issues

Is it off vertically or horizontally?

Vertically I think.  I did a test spin.  The rotating head stock wobbles like crazy with something mounted to it so I’m going to have to figure that one out not sure why it’s wobbling like that.  I may be stuck doing smaller pieces for a bit.

Bring the head stock and tail stock together so that the drive spur and live center points are almost touching. With perfect alignment the 2 points will touch dead on. If they are not aligned, you can see which way they need to go.

 

Checkthis video for some more pointers on Harbor Freight lathes-

 

Unfortunately I'm not very mechanically intuitive.  How ever due to these foreseeable issues with the lathe upon un boxing and setting up.  It was my decision that I just decided to Not use it.  The motor bounced around with a live blank on it even centered on that lathe best as possible.  Quite frankly I will probably wind up giving the HF lathe to my little brother and I will go back to using my bench top lathe with the extension.  Either way.  Is it worth buying harbor freight lathe on a budget I would probably say a big NO.  Flimsy sheet metal stand for it and parts and pieces not aligned.  That's about as honest of a review of un boxing and unfortunately not even getting to use it because I do not feel safe with it due to very very limited space.  Bench top lathe it is.  At least I know that one works and I know I can see exactly what RPM I'm running at.  So the HF lathe will be going to my brother.  Him being an electrician hell be able to do a lot more with it than I can.  How ever bench top lathe I'm perfectly okay with using.  Extension should be here on the 15th of this month.  So an unfortunate mistake and an expensive mistake how ever never will again.  Either way at least my brother will be getting a free lathe out of it.  He's more mechanically inclined than I am LOL.  Ah yes before I forget I also bolted down the Wen to the bench and it being leveled out at elbow length yea yea yea in business.  At least two with the wen it wont take more than one of me to lift and move it.  Tripple bonus.  So safety factors were a huge key in just sicking with the Wen.

Edited June 12, 20205 yr by AndrewB

That can happen with green wood blanks. Even though they are centered mechanically, the moisture/density can be really skewed to one part of the wood. It can be a bit of a balancing act to get the mechanical and weight distribution working together.

 

Although this may not be the same shape blank as you were using, the technique for balancing works regardless-

 

Yea I thought that as much.  How ever I figured better safe than sorry.  Plus I think it was a bit heavy for that bench LOL.  I think it cracked me ply board in the process of doing the test run so I gotta tear that out in the morning and get a better solid mount going  at least I have the pieces that are bolted to the studs in place and leveled.  I should be alright as long as I can save the pieces I've already used for legs LOL.  How ever.  Yea I think the HF one though is a bit much or I bit off more than I could chew with it.  How ever I'm okay with doing small bowls and small things.  Should still be able to turn a decent sized baseball bat or two with it and be quite comfortable.  I'm going to just send the big one with my brother next time he has available time plus that will be kind of a Bday gift for him as well.  Either way.   Even the little lathe wobbled but it wasn't as bad I'm saying the entire block for the headstock wobbled back and forth it had way too much play almost felt like the motor was going to break free from the bench.

Andrew, sorry to hear that you have given up on the big Griz so soon.  But, there is nothing wrong with learning the craft and honing your skills on the smaller WEN.  They will still be making larger lathes in the future

Keeping in mind others might read this looking for advice perhaps alter your approach.  We learn to crawl 1st, then walk, then run, and for some run really fast.  From the post thus far you seem to be skipping a few steps. It's expected new toy and all.  Moving forward I would suggest making a few 1 1/2 square 10 -12 inch blanks and start with a straight smooth dowel.  Focus on set up for tool rest at correct height, slow the speed down alot. Get a couple of dowels nice and easy. Then go to making easy soft arches.

 

Smaller blanks offer less mass and potential vibration.  Use a 2x4 stud.  Sure it ain't pretty but it's softer and let's you focus on the process rather than a finished project.

 

I have an apprentice here at work. First month all I let him do is fetch tools and put them away.  Cruel? No, to be a good helper he needs to know where the tools are and what they do.  Then he can change oil and so on.  After 6 months he could handle minor work with less supervision.  Basics came 1st, not rebuilding an engine.

Edited June 13, 20205 yr by Gunny

13 minutes ago, Gunny said:

Keeping in mind others might read this looking for advice perhaps alter your approach.  We learn to crawl 1st, then walk, then run, and for some run really fast.  From the post thus far you seem to be skipping a few steps.

+1

12 hours ago, AndrewB said:

I think it cracked me ply board in the process of doing the test run so I gotta tear that out in the morning and get a better solid mount

Just playing "devil's advocate" here, but if you are tearing out the bench, try those legs that came with the Harbor Freight lathe. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the stability. When I got my Delta, I didn't use their legs because I didn't have any room for a freestanding machine. I mounted the new Delta in place of my original Woodbridge (which didn't come with legs).  Using the legs, for the Harbor Freight, will offer storage space under the lathe and provide a frame to assist in mounting additional weight if needed.

 

Another thing, if you have the equipment, posting a video of some of the action may help us diagnose what is happening. 

Main problem is lifting it into place.  How ever even with the lathe that was firmly bolted into the ply board the problem I had was the motor and head stock would vibrate so badly it moved and had way too much play for me to even do much of anything.  That's the main reason why I'm choosing not to move forward with that lathe.  Unfortunately I have more of a safety cautious mind with power equipment its not even funny.  Either way the bench top lathe is about the same as the HF lathe in size with the exception its 18 inches currently in length.  How ever adding the extension onto the bench top wen lathe when I get it... It will be a bit longer than the HF lathe.  It just doesn't have the rotating head stock feature too it.  I should still be able to do bowls up to  10 inches to 11 inches in diameter just fine.  I'm actually re doing the bench for the bench top lathe.  Main reason being is after I had done the test run with the HF lathe, simply I found cracks running up and down the ply board.  Even being supported to me that was a safety concern.   I'm not giving up on wood turning by no means I'm quite stubborn but when it comes to safety and risks.  Then that puts hesitation with certain things.

1 minute ago, AndrewB said:

head stock would vibrate so badly it moved and had way too much play for me to even do much of anything.

Can you move the headstock by hand with the lathe powered OFF? Does the headstock vibrate without a blank mounted?

Yes I was able to move the headstock with out a blank mounted.  So with having my brother I will give the big one to him and I will probably wind up continuing to use the small bench top with the extension.  He has way more space and knowing him he would be able to make better fixes to that lathe than I actually could lol.

1 minute ago, AndrewB said:

Yes I was able to move the headstock with out a blank mounted.

You should not be able to move the headstock once it is locked down.

Well it was moving around on me when it was locked down it had a bunch of play with it which it shouldn't have.  But sadly with HF that in a lot of the videos seems to be a common trend.  Guess thats a lesson learned never to buy equipment like that from HF.

14 hours ago, AndrewB said:

The rotating head stock wobbles like crazy with something mounted to it so I’m going to have to figure that one out not sure why it’s wobbling like that.

Does the whole head wobble or is it that the shaft has run out causing the "wobble".  If it is the shaft is out causing the wobble then the lathe needs to go back.  No real way to fix it.  The lathe can be returned to your local store and get your money back or at least a store credit.

The shaft was not out of the headstock no.  The mount just had too much play for me to  deal with. Basically the roatating portion of the headstock would just have way too much play and bounce around which it should not have done.  I will be giving this lathe to my little brother as I said and he will more than likely be able to solve the problems with it that I can not.  Needless to say its just something I'm not capable of fixing myself.  Which is perfectly okay it can go to him and if he can get it working properly and have no play in the motor he'll get a decent working lathe at zero cost to him except to come pick it up and take it to his house.  On the other hand I still have me bench top which is perfectly capable of doing quite a bit still.  So its not too huge of a loss.  I have watched a lot of the videos on fixes for the lathe itself.  But I do not have the proper tools  in order to fix the machine.  But I do plan on turning that's not stopping me from turning on the bench top either.  Just limits the size of projects I can do which is okay.   I have wanted to try pen blanks as well eventually.   Those would make great gifts for family having a personal hand made pen.  On the other hand I do still want to do bowls but I will be limited to smaller bowls..  Which again is perfectly okay with me.   Either way I'm not going to let this issue with the HF lathe keep me from turning stock on my bench top.  At least I know I have no real issues with that one the thing is quite stable unless you put something on it out of balance of course larger pieces do cause it to wobble a bit.  But not as bad as what I was seeing with the HF.   So in the end this will not stop me from doing wood turning. 

Edited June 13, 20205 yr by AndrewB

1 hour ago, AndrewB said:

So in the end this will not stop me from doing wood turning. 

That's the important issue.  We want you to continue with turning and are here to help any way we can.  It is an enjoyable hobby.

1 hour ago, HandyDan said:

That's the important issue.  We want you to continue with turning and are here to help any way we can.  It is an enjoyable hobby.

Absolutely. No one wants to discourage you.